Automated system for assisting the architectural process

ABSTRACT

There is disclosed an automated system for assisting the architectural process on an open-network. The system may include a data entry means for user-selected project features and at least one catalog database from which the user-selected feature is identified. The system may further incorporate filtering means for providing a graphical interface with filtered data associated with a user-selected feature, at least one user database which stores a unique identifier of the user-selected feature, automated selection means for incorporating data associated with the user-selected feature into at least one document, and generation means for creating an architectural document, such as a specification, detail, or schedule. The system may include at least one remote catalog database from which the user-selected feature is identified. Included are tracking the architectural process, querying a user database or a group of user databases, and generating Industry Foundation Class tags for industry compatibility searching.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/736,376, filed on Apr. 17, 2007, which application was itself anon-provisional of application 60/793,311, filed on Apr. 19, 2006 andwas a continuation in part of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/184,167, filed on Jul. 19, 2005, which was itself a non-provisionalof application 60/589,047, filed on Jul. 19, 2004 and was also acontinuation in part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/085,115filed on Mar. 1, 2002, which itself was a non-provisional of application60/272,327, filed on Mar. 1, 2001. The disclosures of each of the aboveidentified applications are hereby incorporated by reference in theirentireties.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention pertains to systems for supporting thearchitectural process, and more particularly, to an open-network systemfor managing the architectural process.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The typical process by which architects and engineers are hired and dotheir work includes many steps. For example, an owner develops a conceptthat describes a proposed building's use and approximate size. He thenengages an architect. The architect hires the required engineers, andthe team produces a design and a contract document in keeping with theconcept and budget. This contract document may be composed ofcomputer-generated drawings and written schedules and specifications.Taken together, these documents may represent all physical and costaspects of the complete building. Currently, the graphics software usedin this process is industry specific; however, the text software isgeneral business.

The aspects of the contract document, including the detail,specification, and schedule, are then bid by general contractors andafter some revisions, may be subsumed into a contract between the ownerand the contractor. The architect observes the construction forcompliance with the design.

The architect's prime interest lies in the conceptualization and designdevelopment phases. The creation of the aspects of the contractdocument, however, including the detail, specification, and scheduledevelopment, as well as their coordination, requires highly technicalexpertise and precision, and is considered drudgery by many. These tasksoften suffer due to lack of time, interest, or sufficient experience. Infact, these tasks are often performed by junior members of the firm wholack the experience to do them efficiently, and thus they requireextensive supervision by senior members of the firm. Shortcomings in thefinal document may result in project cost overruns for the owner andhours of unanticipated work for the architect.

In view of this, several chronic problems exist in the architectural,engineering and construction industry. One is the backbreaking amount ofdetail work required of the professionals, along with ever shrinkingschedules, resulting in higher stress, higher costs, and lower incomes.Another is the difficulty and time-consuming process of obtainingmanufacturer's information as it is needed. Compounding these problemsis the existence of only a few options for automating any portion of thearchitectural design development process. This industry is one of theleast automated of all industries.

Architects and engineers are hired to design buildings and otherstructures. In order to get these structures built, the architects andengineers produce what is called a contract document, which comprisesseveral complimentary aspects, including the agreement between the ownerand the contractor; the drawings, which include plans, elevations,sections, and details; schedules which list attributes of repetitivebuilding parts such as doors, windows, hardware, and finishes; and thespecifications, which are the written, detailed descriptions of thematerials and processes that make up the building. A schedule, forexample, would indicate to a contractor what type of finish a door mighthave, and a specification would indicate how that finish is applied.

At present, these aspects are created primarily manually andindependently of one another. That is, each one requires its own inputand execution, and the coordination between each is done manually by thearchitect and engineer. Each of these aspects has its owncharacteristics. Some are project specific and others are simplymodifications or variations of a standard detail.

The system of the present invention automates the architectural process.Plans, elevations, and sections are project specific, but a majority ofdetails, which are the graphic description of the assembly ofconstruction elements, are standard, with some variation from project toproject. For example, a floor plan is unique to a particular project,and therefore needs to be drawn for that project. However, a door orwindow detail, which is the drawing that shows how the unit fits into aparticular wall, can be generalized and therefore used on any projectthat has those same conditions.

In preparing aspects of the contract document, including drawings andspecifications, architects and engineers rely on production tools, suchas computer programs, and information, such as manufacturers'literature. Architects and engineers perform tasks at the levels ofoutput; that is, they produce aspects of a contract document in theirfinal form; there is no intermediate input form process that they use. Aschedule, which is a device used by architects and engineers to providedetailed information about a door, window, room finish, or the like, arecreated for each item in a computer-aided design (CAD) format or inspreadsheet form where each cell is populated manually. A detail, whichis a drawing that shows the actual assembly of parts, is drawn one lineat a time, or alternatively, by retrieving and modifying old files. Aspecification is prepared by modifying a previous specification or usinga database or word processing-based template.

The production tools that attempt to assist with more than one aspect ofthe contract document do not do so automatically in that the process ofgenerating a second aspect, if available at all, requires additionalsteps beyond a single entry of information into the system. Suchadditional steps may include downloading a detail library and separatelyselecting generic details that may additionally require modification toreflect the various features desired. Thus, the drawing, specifying, andproduct selection are three distinct processes that are currentlydisconnected and not automated.

More recently, for specifications, a program using an actual userinterface that is not in a word processing format has been available.This program utilizes a directory tree structure. Also available is aprogram that uses a database format user interface where text is viewedin a database cell.

The present invention advances the automation of the architecturalprocess. The system provides for a single entry of information forassembling the data required and for generating the aspects of thecontract document used by architects and engineers.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an open-network system for managing thearchitectural process. A user, usually at a location remote to thedatabase of the system, may use a graphical user interface (GUI) toinput data that is assembled to generate the aspects of a contractdocument for a project. The contract document may includespecifications, details, and schedules.

The user may select features in designing the architectural project, andas appropriate, is provided with choices that satisfy the criteria ofthe features selected from one or more sources, such as a manufacturer'scatalogue. In addition to providing specific information to the variousaspects of the contract document, this selection and filtering aspect ofthe invention provides a time, and therefore, cost-savings for theproject by quickly providing information to the user that traditionallyan architect or engineer may spend many hours trying to uncover.Additionally, by filtering the choices applicable for a selected set offeatures of a design part, and providing the user with information aboutthat part in a form that is used in generating the aspects of thecontract document automatically, errors may be significantly diminishedor eliminated. The process may be further facilitated by providing theuser with an image, which may be a portion of an image map. In this way,the user may choose parts by clicking on the image. The data associatedwith that part may then populate the input form and aspects of thecontract document, as appropriate.

The invention may comprise data entry means for user-selected projectfeatures, at least one catalogue database from which the user-selectedfeature is identified, filtering means for providing a graphical userinterface with filtered data associated with a user-selected feature,automated selection means for incorporating data associated with theuser-selected feature into at least one aspect, and generation means forcreating the aspect. Each user-selected project feature may have aunique identifier and data associated with it. The aspects may be thespecification, detail, schedule, status of the architectural process, orthe like. The data entry means may be a graphical user interface havingtext entry and drop-down menu choices.

The system may include at least one remote catalogue database from whichthe user-selected feature is identified. The filtering means may providethe drop-down menu choices of the graphical user interface with filtereddata associated with a user-selected feature.

The system of the present invention may further include means fortracking the architectural process. The invention may also includesearching means for querying a user database or a group of userdatabases. The aspect created by the generation means may includeIndustry Foundation Class tags for industry compatibility. This may be,for example, in extensible markup language (XML), or other suitableform, such as object-oriented files.

The present invention may utilize an input form to gather designinformation about an architectural project or part of a project forassembly and placement in the aspects of the contract document,including, but not limited to, a schedule, specification, detail, or thelike, as appropriate. The system may allow multiple tasks to beperformed with a single entry of information. One embodiment of theinvention further includes a module for tracking the status of thedesign process.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide asystem that enables architects and engineers to integrate their mostbasic and time-consuming tasks into one task.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a system thatenables architects and engineers to generate multiple aspects of thecontract document with a single entry of information.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a system toautomate the creation of multiple aspects of the contract document.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a systemwith resources for preventing errors in creating a contract document.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a system thatallows for faster completion of a contract document.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention shall bemade apparent from the accompanying drawings and the descriptionthereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute apart of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention,and, together with the general description of the invention given above,and the detailed description of the embodiments given below, serve toexplain the principles of the present invention.

FIG. 1 presents a pictorial view of the flow of data amount of theschedule, Detail, Specification, and Manufacturer Modules.

FIG. 2 presents a sample input form for doors.

FIG. 3 presents a flow chart showing how information travels during aninitial session in which a user keyboards and selects choices at theGUI.

FIG. 4 presents a diagram of the overall flow of data for generatingoutput.

FIG. 5 presents a breakdown of the data input that makes up the projectdata.

FIG. 6 presents a view of the user's options for editing a specificationdocument from the preview function.

FIG. 7 presents a view of the user's options for saving edits to aspecification document.

FIG. 8 presents a snapshot of an input screen from which a user mayelect to flag items.

FIG. 9 presents a view of a screen that allows a user to identify andsave a data input form as a template.

FIG. 10 presents a sample product management page that allows a user toselect where product and/or material data is generated.

FIG. 11 presents a snapshot of a screen from which a user may elect tohide attribute columns in schedules or specifications.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The architectural process by which architects and engineers are hired todo their work typically begins with an owner developing a concept thatdescribes a proposed building's use and approximate size. The owner thenusually engages an architect. The architect may hire the requiredengineers, and the team may produce a design and a contract document, inaccordance with the concept and budget.

The contract document may include a number of documents that make up thevarious aspects, such as computer-generated drawings and writtenschedules and specifications. Taken together, these documents mayrepresent all of the physical and cost aspects of the complete building.General contractors may then bid on the aspects of the contractdocument. After some revisions, these aspects may be subsumed into acontract between the owner and the contractor. The architect may observethe construction to ensure compliance with the design.

The architect's prime interest may lie in the conceptualization anddesign development phases. The creation of the aspects of the contractdocument, however, including the detail, specification, and scheduledevelopment, as well as their coordination, may require highly technicalexpertise and precision, and may be considered drudgery by many. Thesetasks often suffer due to lack of time, interest, or sufficientexperience. In fact, these tasks are often performed by junior membersof the firm who lack the experience to do them efficiently, and thusthey require extensive supervision by senior members of the firm.Shortcomings in the final document may result in project cost overrunsfor the owner and hours of unanticipated work for the architect.

The system of the present invention uses an open network to facilitatethe exchange of information and provide single entry input forms for theuser. The system integrates four modules that may functionsimultaneously to provide the desired output. The four modules mayconsist of a Schedule Module, a Detail Module, a Specification Module,and a Manufacturer's Module.

FIG. 1 shows the flow of data among the modules. A Schedule Moduleassembles data for and generates schedules, which may list attributes ofrepetitive building parts such as doors, windows, hardware, finishes,and the like. A Detail Module assembles data for and draws one or moreconstruction details. The drawing may show the actual assembly of parts.A Specification Module assembles data for and generates one or morespecifications for the contract document, which may consist of thewritten, detailed descriptions of the materials and processes that makeup the building. A Manufacturer's Module may import product cataloguesinto the system, and when a product is selected, the system mayautomatically enter its data into the other three modules. For example,when the manufacturer and project-specific data about one window isentered, the system may automatically enter that data, as appropriate,in the window schedule, select and draw the appropriate detail for thatwindow, and select and write the appropriate specification sections forthat window.

A module, such as for example, the Detail Module, may comprise a utilityfor creating the parts of a drawing from existing drawing parts, such asthose in CAD format. A collection utility of the Detail Module maycollect the drawn representations of the parts, and also theparameterized dimensions and descriptive names for the parts, andassemble the information into a database.

A diagram utility may create a parts diagram for a detail. The diagrammay be created from a series of vector equations that comprise thegeometry of the parameterized parts of the detail. The diagram utilitymay have two interfaces. A human interface may allow for the detail partto be drawn or previewed before being drawn. A program interface mayallow other programs to create a detail from the information in thedatabase.

FIG. 2 shows a sample input form for doors. User Input Forms may beorganized by divisions, schedules, and specification sections, includingthe data needed to generate those documents. The input form is specificfor each category of work, such as doors, windows, ceramic tile,flooring, and the like, so it may be readily visible on a computerscreen in as many screens as necessary. In this way, the schedules,product selections, specifications, and details may all be developed foreach category from one form. Once input, data may follow different datapaths.

The user may select some of the data from drop-down boxes. These userselections may be stored in a user database for retrieval when theschedule is generated for preview or saved for download. This data maybe used for only a single output document, such as the schedule,specification, or detail, for a combination of documents, or for allthree documents.

The user may key in some of the data into input boxes. As with thedrop-down selections, these selections may also be stored in a userdatabase for retrieval when the aspects are generated for preview orsaved for download.

Some of the data that is selected from drop-down boxes by the user mayopen a manufacturer's catalogue page from which the user may select acatalogue item. The attributes of that item may populate the input formand may be stored in the user database for retrieval when a schedule,specification, or detail is generated for preview or saved for download.This data may be assembled for generation of one or more of the variousaspects of the contract document.

If the item selected from the catalogue page is a drawing, such as anitem available in a *.dwg format, then it may be included in the detailfor that item. For example, a manufacturer's stock detail for a windowmay be inserted into a window detail for a specific project based on theother user selections, as described below for drawing data.

The user may select a template for a drawing from a drop-down box on theUser Input Form. The user may then select parts from a list in one orseveral drop-down boxes. These selections may be stored in a userdatabase. When the detail is generated for preview or download, theinformation is assembled from the database and the detail may be drawnusing the template the parts selected. Parts selected from amanufacturer's catalogue could also be selected and assembled into thedetail.

The user may select data from drop-down boxes. These selections may bestored in a user database and may be retrieved with the specification ispreviewed or generated for download. This data may be used only for aspecification, for a specification and a schedule, for a specificationand a detail, or for all three. The system may automatically associatethe stored data with the appropriate aspects of the contract documentand assemble the data into the aspects at the user's request.

In some embodiments, all of the above data paths may worksimultaneously. The work maybe previewed at any time, in any format. Anyone or all documents may be generated. All documents may beautomatically stored for future download. All documents may be saved ina format selected by the user; for example, the documents may be savedin .dwg, .dxf, .rtf, .doc, .wpf, .xls, or other formats.

The user database may function as a switching device that stores all theselected items and their associated unique identifiers. It may alsoinclude industry-acceptable tags such as Industry Foundation Class tags.When the user requests that the various documents be generated, thesystem may query the user database and generate the documents.

The information may represent all possible input choices, including, butnot limited to, user input text and user-selected choices from thedrop-down menus related to one or more catalogue databases. This textmay be associated with unique identifiers that are stored in memory andunique identifiers may be compared with the information in the cataloguedatabases. This comparison may provide the basis for filtering choicesthat appear on the user's screen as the user continues on thatworksheet. This feature may assist in preventing errors based on mistakeor ignorance by providing only a set of options acceptable in theindustry relative to the selected choice.

Any data input into the system, whether related to the design or otherproject aspects, such as that from the project status input form, fromuser text, from user selections, or imported from other digital forms,may be stored in memory. This data may be assembled with data fromcatalogue databases, such as manufacturer databases, to generate anynumber of outputs, including, but not limited to, a specification,detail, schedule, or status of the architectural process. The outputsmay be in an industry-standard format, such as XML, which may benecessary to enable contractors and maintenance persons to search thesystem.

In systems of the present invention, the data required for developingthe schedules, though unique for each project, may be used to link aspecification, schedule, and detail together. This may be particularlyadvantageous because in most cases, this is the one step in the processthat architects take, regardless of whatever else they draw or whatspecifications they write.

Along those lines, it should be noted that a building is usuallydesigned from the outside in, or from the general to the specific. Theplans and elevations, which are pictures of the sides of a building, areusually the first to be designed with the sections and details tofollow. If an architect runs out of time in developing the aspects ofthe contract document, the details and specifications may suffer forlack of adequate attention, for in general, these items are lowest on anarchitect's priority list. Therefore, it may benefit the architectgreatly to have these tasks automated as much as possible.

FIG. 3 depicts a flow of information during an initial session of a userkeyboarding and selecting choices at the GUI. In one embodiment, thisGUI is the scheduler form. The design information represents allpossible input choices, such as user input text and user selectedchoices from the drop-down menus related to one or more cataloguedatabases (i.e., the feature information storage means). This text maybe associated with unique identifiers that are stored in the memorystorage means and the unique identifiers are compared with theinformation in the catalogue databases. This comparison may provide thebasis for filtering choices by the filtering means that may appear onthe user's display as the user continues on the particular worksheet.

FIG. 4 shows the overall flow of data for generating output. Any datainput into the system, whether related to the design or other projectaspects, such as using the project status input form, and from usertext, from user selections, or imported from other digital forms, isstored in memory. This data may be assembled with data from thecatalogue databases, including the manufacturer databases, to generateone or more outputs, including a specification, detail, schedule, andstatus of the architectural process. The outputs may be in anindustry-standard format, such as XML, which may be necessary to enablecontractors and maintenance persons to search the system.

FIG. 5 presents a breakdown of the data input that makes up the projectdata (as shown in FIG. 3). In particular, each division may be made upof data combined from several worksheets, and in turn, the combinationof divisions may make up the project data. This may include imported,rather than input data.

Embodiments of the system may further allow the user to editspecification documents online. Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, the user mayedit a specification via the preview function. The user may save editsper project, per project type, or per office standard. Accordingly, theuser may store practice knowledge and the changes may appear insubsequent documents for new projects.

As shown in FIG. 8, embodiments may allow the user to flag items thatneed additional work, which may reduce the time needed to review adocument and resume progress in a subsequent session. The user may beable to check or flag a label on a data entry form. The flagging maythen appear on the division menu. The system may be further configuredto reflect the flagged status in worksheets, subworksheets, and pages.The user may add notations to the flagged items that may provide anexplanation as to why the user flagged the item.

Turning to FIG. 9, the system may provide the user with the ability toidentify and save a data input form as a template. For instance, aworksheet may be saved as a template for a certain type of project, forall office projects, or for all project types. This may provide anothermethod for storing practice knowledge.

In addition, embodiments of the invention may provide the user with theability to choose where product and/or material data is generated. Theproduct and material data may be generated in either the specificationor in the schedule. As shown in FIG. 10, the user may access the projectmanagement page for each project and make a selection. As a default, theproduct and material data may be generated in both the specification andthe schedule.

Referring to FIG. 11, the system may further provide the user with theability to hide attribute columns in schedules and specifications. Thisfunction may be accessible through the preview schedule function.

Embodiments of the system may include other supplementary features. Forinstance, the system may enable the user to create his or her own dataentry forms and create his or her own specification section. The systemmay further allow a user to audit a project by viewing the work done.Through this feature, a project administrator may be able to see whatwork has been done, when the work was done, and who performed the work.

The system may also have the capability to change English units tometric units. The unit transformation may take place automatically or atthe direction of a global command.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer implemented method for automaticallygenerating aspects of an architectural contract document for a buildingafter an owner of the building has provided an architect with a proposeduse and approximate size for the building, the method comprising using acomputer comprising a processor and a computer readable storage mediumto automatically generate multiple aspects of the architectural contractdocument, wherein the computer readable storage medium has storedthereon a set of instructions operable to configure the computer toperform a set of acts, the set of acts comprising: a) providing aplurality of forms that are each specific to an architectural workcategory to a user; b) displaying one of the forms from the plurality offorms to the user, wherein the displayed form comprises at least one ormore drop down boxes and at least one field corresponding to a dimensionof an architectural feature corresponding to the architectural workcategory, wherein the architectural feature has a geometry defined atleast in part by the dimension; c) receiving a value from the displayedform specific to the architectural work category for the dimension forthe architectural feature from the user; d) based on the value receivedfrom the form specific to the architectural work category, filteringchoices for the architectural feature by selecting one or more storedcatalogs that are identified by the architectural feature and retrievingas the filtered choices one or more items from the one or more storedcatalogs that comply with the value received, displaying to the user thefiltered choices in the displayed form, and receiving one or more of thefiltered choices from the user; e) receiving a selection from one of thedrop down boxes, the selection opening a catalog page for the user toselect a catalog item to populate attributes of the selected catalogitem into the displayed form; f) receiving the selection of the catalogitem and populating the attributes of the selected catalog item into thedisplayed form; g) determining if the catalog item from the page is indrawing format; h) allowing the user to request the automatic generationof multiple aspects of the architectural contract document, wherein theuser is allowed to request a third aspect and also at least one of afirst and second aspects, through selection from the group consistingof: i) the first aspect comprising a listing of attributes of thearchitectural feature; ii) the second aspect comprising a writtendetailed description of materials and processes related to including thearchitectural feature in the building; and iii) the third aspectcomprising a drawing comprising the architectural feature; and i)receiving the request and corresponding multiple aspect selections fromthe user and automatically generating the requested multiple aspects ofthe architectural contract document; wherein: i) automaticallygenerating the requested multiple aspects of the architectural contractdocument comprises: A) propagating the received value, the received oneor more choices from the filtered choices, and the selected item'sattributes into each of the aspects selected by the user; and B)generating the drawing using the received value and inserting into thedrawing of the third aspect, the selected catalog item when the selectedcatalog item was determined to be in the drawing format; and ii) thearchitectural contract document is the architectural contract documentfor the building and comprises the automatically generated aspects. 2.The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein: a) the first aspectis a schedule for the architectural feature; b) the second aspect is aspecification for the architectural feature; and c) the third aspect isa detail for the architectural feature.
 3. The computer implementedmethod of claim 2, wherein automatically generating the specificationfor the architectural feature comprises generating the specification forthe architectural feature in editable format, and wherein the methodfurther comprises creating a final draft specification for inclusion inthe architectural contract document, wherein the final draftspecification comprises the specification for the architectural feature.4. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein: a) the formspecific to an architectural work category is a window form; b) thearchitectural feature corresponding to the architectural work categoryis a window; and c) the dimension of the window for which a value isentered into the window form is taken from the list consisting of: i) aheight for the window; and ii) a width for the window.
 5. The computerimplemented method of claim 1, wherein the set of acts further comprisesproviding a computer aided design operable to depict the architecturalfeature when the geometry of the architectural feature is encoded usingone or more vector equations.
 6. The computer implemented method ofclaim 1, wherein the set of acts further comprises automaticallyupdating one or more vector equations encoding the geometry of thearchitectural feature to include the value for the dimension enteredinto the form specific to the architectural work category.
 7. Thecomputer implemented method of claim 1 wherein the method is a methodfor automatically generating aspects of the architectural contractdocument for the building based on one or more values for dimensions forarchitectural features from the architect entered into the form specificto the architectural work category, wherein the one or more values arereceived after the owner of the building has provided the architect withthe proposed use and approximate size for the building, wherein thearchitect is responsible for producing a design for the building basedon the proposed use and approximate size provided by the owner, andwherein the architectural contract document comprises plans for thebuilding.
 8. The computer implemented method of claim 7 wherein thearchitect is responsible for creating the plans for the building.
 9. Thecomputer implemented method of claim 1, wherein the set of actscomprises, after automatically generating the requested multiple aspectsof the architectural contract document: a) providing a modificationinterface comprising a plurality of controls operable by the user tospecify which characteristics for the architectural featurecorresponding to the architectural work category to include in, orexclude from the first aspect comprising the listing of attributes ofthe architectural feature and/or the second aspect comprising thewritten detailed description of materials and processes related toincluding the architectural feature in the building; b) executinginstructions operable to propagate selections made by the user using themodification interface to both the first aspect comprising the listingof attributes of the architectural feature and the second aspectcomprising the written detailed description of materials and processesrelated to including the architectural feature in the building.
 10. Anon-transitory computer readable storage medium comprising instructionswhich are operable to configure a computer to perform a set of actscomprising: a) providing a plurality of forms specific to anarchitectural work category to a user; b) displaying one of the formsfrom the plurality of forms to the user, wherein the displayed formcomprises at least one or more drop down boxes and at least one fieldcorresponding to a dimension of an architectural feature correspondingto the architectural work category, wherein the architectural featurehas a geometry defined at least in part by the dimension; c) receiving avalue for the dimension for the architectural feature from the user,wherein the value is received from the displayed form specific to thearchitectural work category; d) based on the value received from theform specific to the architectural work category, filtering choices forthe architectural feature by selecting one or more stored catalogs thatare identified by the architectural feature and retrieving as thefiltered choices one or more items from the one or more stored catalogsthat comply with the value received, displaying to the user the filteredchoices in the displayed form, and receiving one or more of the filteredchoices from the user; e) receiving a selection from one of the dropdown boxes, the selection opening a catalog page for the user to selecta catalog item to populate attributes of the selected catalog item intothe displayed form; f) receiving the selection of the catalog item andpopulating the attributes of the selected catalog item into thedisplayed form; g) determining if the catalog item from the page is indrawing format; h) allowing the user to request the automatic generationof multiple aspects of the architectural contract document, wherein theuser is allowed to request a third aspect and also at least one of afirst and second aspects, through selection from the group consistingof: i) the first aspect comprising a listing of attributes of thearchitectural feature; ii) the second aspect comprising a writtendetailed description of materials and processes related to including thearchitectural feature in the building; and iii) the third aspectcomprising a drawing comprising the architectural feature; i) receivingthe request and corresponding multiple aspect selections from the userand automatically generating the requested multiple aspects of thearchitectural contract document; wherein: i) automatically generatingthe requested multiple aspects of the architectural contract documentcomprises: A) propagating the received value, the received one or morechoices from the filtered choices, and the selected item's attributesinto each of the aspects selected by the user; and B) generating thedrawing using the received value and inserting into the drawing of thethird aspect, the selected catalog item when the selected catalog itemwas determined to be in drawing format; and ii) the architecturalcontract document is the architectural contract document for thebuilding and comprises the automatically generated aspects.
 11. Thenon-transitory computer readable medium of claim 10, wherein: a) thefirst aspect is a schedule for the architectural feature; b) the secondaspect is a specification for the architectural feature; and c) thethird aspect is a detail for the architectural feature.
 12. Thenon-transitory computer readable medium of claim 11, whereinautomatically generating the specification for the architectural featurecomprises generating the specification for the architectural feature ineditable format, and wherein the method further comprises creating afinal draft specification for inclusion in the architectural contractdocument, wherein the final draft specification comprises thespecification for the architectural feature.
 13. The non-transitorycomputer readable medium of claim 10, wherein the set of acts furthercomprises automatically updating one or more vector equations encodingthe geometry of the architectural feature to include the value for thedimension entered into the form specific to the architectural workcategory.
 14. A computer implemented method for automatically generatingone or more aspects of an architectural contract document for a buildingafter an owner of the building has provided an architect with a proposeduse and approximate size for the building, the method comprising using acomputer comprising a processor and a computer readable storage mediumto automatically generate one or more aspects of the architecturalcontract document, wherein the computer readable storage medium hasstored thereon a set of instructions operable to configure the computerto perform a set of acts, the set of acts comprising: a) providing aplurality of forms specific to an architectural work category to a user;b) displaying one of the forms from the plurality of forms to the user,wherein the displayed form comprises at least one or more drop downboxes as at least one field corresponding to a dimension of anarchitectural feature corresponding to the architectural work category,wherein the architectural feature has a geometry defined at least inpart by the dimension; c) receiving a value from the displayed formspecific to the architectural work category for the dimension for thearchitectural feature from the user; d) based on the value received fromthe form specific to the architectural work category, filtering choicesfor the architectural feature by selecting one or more stored catalogsthat are identified by the architectural feature and retrieving as thefiltered choices one or more items from the one or more stored catalogsthat comply with the value received, displaying to the user the filteredchoices in the displayed form, and receiving one or more of the filteredchoices from the user; e) receiving a selection from one of the dropdown boxes, the selection opening a catalog page for the user to selecta catalog item to populate attributes of the selected catalog item intothe displayed form; f) receiving the selection of the catalog item andpopulating the attributes of the selected catalog item into thedisplayed form; g) determining if the catalog item from the page is indrawing format; h) allowing the user to request the automatic generationof one or more aspects of the architectural contract document, whereinthe user is allowed to request a third aspect and at least one of afirst and second aspects, through selection from the group consistingof: i) the first aspect comprising a listing of attributes of thearchitectural feature; ii) the second aspect comprising a writtendetailed description of materials and processes related to including thearchitectural feature in the building; and iii) the third aspectcomprising a drawing comprising the architectural feature; and i)receiving the request and corresponding one or more aspect selectionsfrom the user and automatically generating the requested one or moreaspects of the architectural contract document; wherein: i)automatically generating the requested one or more aspects of thearchitectural contract document comprises: A) propagating the receivedvalue, the received one or more choices from the filtered choices, andthe selected item's attributes into each of the aspects selected by theuser; and B) generating the drawing using the received value andinserting into the drawing of the third aspect, the selected catalogitem when the selected catalog item was determined to be in the drawingformat; and ii) the architectural contract document is the architecturalcontract document for the building and comprises the automaticallygenerated one or more aspects.
 15. The computer implemented method ofclaim 14 wherein the method is a method for automatically generating oneor more aspects of the architectural contract document for the buildingbased on one or more values for dimensions for architectural featuresfrom the architect entered into the form specific to the architecturalwork category, wherein the one or more values are received after theowner of the building has provided the architect with the proposed useand approximate size for the building, wherein the architect isresponsible for producing a design for the building based on theproposed use and approximate size provided by the owner, and wherein thearchitectural contract document comprises plans for the building. 16.The computer implemented method of claim 15 wherein the architect isresponsible for creating the plans for the building.
 17. The computerimplemented method of claim 14, wherein the set of acts comprises, afterautomatically generating the requested one or more aspects of thearchitectural contract document: a) providing a modification interfacecomprising a plurality of controls operable by the user to specify whichcharacteristics for the architectural feature corresponding to thearchitectural work category to include in, or exclude from the firstaspect comprising the listing of attributes of the architectural featureand/or the second aspect comprising the written detailed description ofmaterials and processes related to including the architectural featurein the building; b) executing instructions operable to propagateselections made by the user using the modification interface to both thefirst aspect comprising the listing of attributes of the architecturalfeature and the second aspect comprising the written detaileddescription of materials and processes related to including thearchitectural feature in the building.